Osier
name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A willow, of species Salix viminalis, growing in wet places in Europe and Asia, and introduced into North America, considered the best willow for wickerwork. countable, uncountable
- 2 any of various willows having pliable twigs used in basketry and furniture wordnet
- 3 Any kind of willow. broadly, countable, uncountable
- 4 flexible twig of a willow tree wordnet
- 5 Long, pliable twigs of this plant, or of other similar plants. countable, uncountable
"She pulled half a dozen fine fish out of the water within the reeds, killing each as she took it out, and threading it on a long osier that she carried. Then she knotted the osier, hung it on her arm, picked up the pitcher, and turned to come back."
- 1 A surname from French.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"She pulled half a dozen fine fish out of the water within the reeds, killing each as she took it out, and threading it on a long osier that she carried. Then she knotted the osier, hung it on her arm, picked up the pitcher, and turned to come back."
Etymology
Borrowed from French osier (“basket willow, withy”)
Borrowed from French Osier, from the noun osier (“willow tree”). Also altered from Auger and Ager. Compare Losier.
Related phrases
More for "osier"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.